Best Restaurants & Food in Bangkok

Isaan cooking done properly for next to nothing, and they'll let you bring your own beer.

MIA is where I'd point people when the grand names are booked out — a Michelin-starred dining room off Sukhumvit run by a chef couple, serving playful tasting menus that move between European technique and Asian flavour, with a dessert stretch reviewers single out again and again.

Gaggan is Bangkok's most famous dining ticket — chef Gaggan Anand's two-Michelin-star, emoji-menu marathon of 20-plus courses of 'progressive Indian' cooking, served counter-style with the chef and his brigade performing as much as cooking.

Nusara is chef Thitid 'Ton' Tassanakajohn's love letter to his grandmother's cooking — a jewel-box dining room across from Wat Pho where refined tasting menus rework Thai family recipes with top-shelf ingredients.

Corner spot near the old city doing generous Thai plates and a proper vegetarian menu from 7am to 2am.

Authentic Indian cuisine with aromatic spices and standout butter chicken, open daily in central Bangkok.

Spanish charcoal grill restaurant inside One Bangkok's Parade Building, serving sharing-style meats and seafood.

Vegetarian Thai cooking that isn't an afterthought, served from breakfast right through to midnight.

A hostel kitchen in old Bangkok that never closes, built more for conversation than for fine dining.

Basement noodle shop in One Bangkok serving bold tom yum bowls with adjustable spice levels, daily until 21:30.

Indian food that tastes like home cooking, at prices that will make you wince a little.

Vegetarian cooking that gets the same attention as the meat menu, not a token afterthought.

Old City Thai cooking done properly, with pad krapow from 59 baht and staff who warn you about the chilli.

Regional Thai done properly on Lang Suan, with service warm enough that diners name the waiter in reviews.

Singaporean-style chicken rice served in One Bangkok's basement level, open daily 10:30am–9:30pm.

Open-air seafood buffet on the Chao Phraya from 599 baht, and the river seats are worth asking for.

Live river prawns from the tank, grilled at your table, and no clock ticking on how long you stay.

A pad thai specialist with about five dishes on the menu, jazz on the stereo and an owner who'll talk you through it.

A proper sit-down kitchen in the middle of the Khaosan chaos, doing Thai, pizza and its own bakery bread.

Western comfort food done properly, with a truffle burger that's become the reason most people book.

A serene all-day dining destination on Sukhumvit 24 with standout Mediterranean food and exceptional service.

Proper North Indian cooking on Sukhumvit 11, open round the clock, and the paneer dishes are the reason to go.

Riverside Thai cooking at budget prices, with a deck of UNO on every table and monitor lizards in the water.

Southern Thai cooking done properly, dinner only, and the yellow curry isn't the creamy one you're picturing.